Where do you guys go about finding businesses email addresses to send out a brief marketing email about my web design services?
So far in my short journey ive found the best places to be google local business searches (this usually just gets me to an existing website where i can find contact info). Chamber of commerce websites seem to be a pretty good source too. The business blue book is another good source of info.
Anyone else have any good sources to share?
You can buy huge long lists of them, but I only mention this to warn you off them. Most mailout services won’t let you use these lists, and I’ve seen people get very disappointed that they purchased a list and then can’t use it.
Why can’t they use it? Because reputable mailout services recognize that unsolicited emails are essentially spam, no matter what slant you try to put on it.
It’s better (in my view, at least) to build up a following ‘organically’, by talking to people, maybe getting involved in social media and inviting people to sign up to your newsletters etc. My 2c 
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I suspect the OP was looking toward “cold calling” style email and agreed, it’s a bad idea.
If you wrote personalised emails that were well researched and aimed at specific places, you’re more likely to get a response and not get labelled as a spammer.
Firing out a “quick” (sounds like generic) email without consent and using a purchased list to spam that material will not do your businesses reputation any favours.
I also recommend organic networking, if you want to get noticed… the best way to-do it is by providing people something they need (not just hitting up everyone “just in case”) and by only offering it if you KNOW they require those services (not just paying for others private data to be put in your hands to exploit).
Sounds like someone didnt have their morning coffee…or in your case, tea.
Trade show websites are a good source for companies in specific industries, though if you only want local businesses this will not be much help.
Trade show exhibitors are potentially good clients because they are proven to have money to spend (trade shows are expensive), they understand the need to market their companies, they are ‘doers’ rather than just ‘thinkers’, and they have a definite need for good websites.
Paul
How do you come to that conclusion? What I stated was both coherent and suitable based on what you posted. No business will take a sales pitch seriously if it’s some briefly worded (quick) advertisement that came from an unknown source (without the justification firstly being established), you’ll just appear as an unprofessional spammer. If you want legitimate business leads you should be seeking them out on an individual basis with personalised well researched and meaningful emails that are picked with purpose… not throwing a stick of TNT into the lake to see what you can catch. It’s a case of marketing effectively, not randomly.
PS: No need for stereotypes, just because I’m British doesn’t mean I drink tea… I hate the stuff. I drink coffee.